ATLANTA—The shortest playoff “series” in baseball history ended with the shortest on-field celebration in baseball history. There were only a few pumped fists and leaps of joy as the St. Louis Cardinals sprinted off the Turner Field grass and into the dugout in the moments after they finished off the Atlanta Braves 6-3 in the NL Wild Card Game on Friday.

On a night of bizarre baseball, this expedited exit was only fitting.

There had been moments during the game when it appeared the umpires had ended the Cardinals’ season with questionable calls. There had been moments when it was clear the Braves had squandered their golden opportunity by mimicking Class AA defenders learning on the job. And there had been moments when it seemed the umpires had ended the Atlanta’s season with questionable—even infuriating—calls.

And it was because of those calls that the Cardinals did their best Usain Bolt impressions after second baseman Daniel Descalso threw out Dan Uggla for the game’s final out. The infield fly rule that thwarted Atlanta’s potential game-altering, eighth-inning rally resulted in countless bottles and cans being thrown onto the field by the upset Braves patrons.

It was clear from the dispersal pattern of those bottles and cans that the projectiles had not been aimed at the Cardinals’ players—the debris was evenly distributed, as if every fan just aimed straight out before letting loose with the flying symbols of their frustration.

Still, there was no reason to take any chances after the final out.

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“We just felt it was best for the players not to take that risk and get stuck out there and risk something happening,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “So we made it very clear if we could finish that thing off, let's get inside the dugout as quick as we can, and go up to the clubhouse.”

And, Matheny was right. There were bottles and cans—whatever ones were left from the eighth-inning incident, maybe scrounged up from under seats or from since-finished drinks—thrown at the end of the game. The Cardinals managed to slip into the clubhouse unscathed, and the celebration there lasted until the supply of champagne and beer had been thoroughly exhausted.

This core of players, with a few exceptions—namely Albert Pujols—was part of the 2011 team that roared back in September to catch the Braves and earn the lone NL wild-card berth. For weeks, they faced a win-or-go-home situation before reaching the postseason.

In the playoffs, they survived two elimination games in the opening round against the 102-win Philadelphia Phillies, and then won consecutive games against the 96-win Milwaukee Brewers after the NLCS was tied 2-2. And, of course, they won Games 6 and 7 against the 96-win Texas Rangers to claim the franchise’s 11th World Series.

On Friday night, the Cardinals played like they’d been there before. The Braves played more like they were newcomers to that type of elimination pressure. To be sure, there have been plenty of times this season when the Cardinals didn’t react so well to the pressure of close contests. There is a reason the team with the second-best run differential in the National League finished with the fifth-best record in the regular season.

The Cardinals were just 21-26 in one-run games, and 6-12 in extra innings.

“We've had a lot of games like this this season,” Matheny said. “I was just talking this over with our general manager, John Mozeliak. And it seemed like an overwhelming number of close games and not a lot of them went our way. But I think those close games where things just don't go smoothly, I think they develop character. I think they develop perseverance. To me, as I look at our club, that's what I see. I see a team that's tough to beat when you have a great mix of character and talent. They're going to continue to believe in themselves, and that's what we have. They believe they can do it, and that's hard to stop. You can talk about it, but you've got to execute.”

And when it mattered most on Friday night, the Cardinals did execute. They weren’t perfect, but they were good enough. In a win-or-go-home scenario, that’s all that matters.